ON 5 December 2019 a poor sugar cane farmer in Nautan Khap Tola in Eastern Champaran was thrown into a boiling cauldron and killed by the owner of the cane crusher; an FIR was registered only after much delay, and the cane crusher owner has not yet been arrested. This is a heinous incident and a matter of shame for the administration. The Champaran police, notorious for shielding criminal gangs including land mafia gangs, are standing in support of the killers of this poor farmer.
A CPIML team went to the spot on 15 December to enquire into the incident. They consoled the victim Bhuvaneshwar Patel’s wife and sons and spoke to the people of the village. The team was led by Kisan Mahasabha and CPIML leader Sunil Rao.
The report submitted by the team said that there are lakhs of poor farmers like Bhuvaneshwar Patel who own less than one acre of land and whose sugar cane is not bought by the sugar mills or they are forced to sell their produce in the name of other bigger farmers. Their sugar cane is not purchased on time by the sugar mills, and their payment is also given at the will of the bigger farmer in whose name the cane is weighed. As a result the poor cane farmers, in order to escape the vicious cycle of trying to get Rs 300 per quintal, is forced to sell his cane to the local cane crushers at Rs 140 per quintal. Bhuvaneshwar (58) was killed because he asked for his pending payment from the crusher owner.
The CPIML has warned of farmers’ agitation unless the sugar mills and the government does not refrain from destroying the poor farmers. The party demanded the rule of keeping 2 days in a week as ‘Poor Day’ should be observed and payments should be made regularly and on time. The CPIML leaders demanded that Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the family of Bhuvaneshwar, and the killers should be arrested without delay. The enquiry team comprised Sunil Rao, Surendra Chaudhury, Vinod Kushwaha along with many local farmers.
